उपनिषद् · Kṛṣṇa 1.25
॥
देवनागरी
वृन्दा भक्तिः क्रिया बुद्धिः सर्वजन्तुप्रकाशिनी । तस्मान्न भिन्नं नाभिन्नमाभिर्भिन्नो न वै विभुः । भूमावुत्तारितं सर्वं वैकुण्ठं स्वर्गवासिनाम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
vṛndā bhaktiḥ kriyā buddhiḥ sarvajantuprakāśinī | tasmānna bhinnaṃ nābhinnamābhirbhinno na vai vibhuḥ | bhūmāvuttāritaṃ sarvaṃ vaikuṇṭhaṃ svargavāsinām
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
वृन्दा भक्तिः क्रिया बुद्धिःvṛndā bhaktiḥ kriyā buddhiḥVṛndā — devotion, action, intellect
सर्व-जन्तु-प्रकाशिनीsarva-jantu-prakāśinīshining for all beings
तस्मात् न भिन्नं न अ-भिन्नम्tasmāt na bhinnaṃ na a-bhinnamtherefore neither different nor non-different
आभिः भिन्नः न वै विभुःābhiḥ bhinnaḥ na vai vibhuḥby these the all-pervading is not divided
भूमौ उत्तारितं सर्वं वैकुण्ठम्bhūmau uttāritaṃ sarvaṃ vaikuṇṭhamupon the earth brought down the whole of Vaikuṇṭha
अनुवाद
"Vṛndā is devotion, action, intellect, shining for all beings. Therefore [this] is neither different [from Him] nor non-different; by these the all-pervading is not divided. Upon the earth is brought down the whole of Vaikuṇṭha for those living in heaven."
संस्करण
f78b2fe6319d · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The first section ends, and in its last line stands a definition for whose sake the whole mapping was worth reading: na bhinnaṃ na abhinnam, "neither different nor non-different." That is, of everything listed — the flute, the staff, the mortar, the enemies and friends — it is said that it neither is Him nor is other than Him. This is precisely acintya-bheda-abheda, "inconceivable difference-and-non-difference," stated in the upaniṣad itself.
It is worth examining why both negations are necessary. If one says "non-different," then the flute is Rudra, and Rudra is Kṛṣṇa, and no one exists besides Him; then there is no one to play the flute. If one says "different," then the flute is a thing in itself, and everything said in the twenty-five verses is false.
What remains is both at once; and the book sets down both. The objection to this method is well known and worth citing: it is said that "both" is a refusal to think, not a thought. The Vaiṣṇava side's answer lies in the word acintya, "inconceivable." She does not assert that there is no contradiction; she asserts that this connection does not fit into reasoning, and acknowledges this openly.
Let us add the last half of the line: bhūmāv uttāritaṃ sarvaṃ vaikuṇṭham, "upon the earth is brought down the whole of Vaikuṇṭha." That is, Vṛndāvana is called not a likeness of the heavenly abode but that very abode, lowered here. This position is fundamental in her books and is stated thus: earthly Vṛndāvana and eternal Vṛndāvana are not two places, and the difference lies only in who is looking.